1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to snare strainers that control snappy members including snares to move in close contact with or separate from drumheads of snare drums.
This application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-7151, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of the Related Art
Snare drums produce special sound effects called tumbling effects, wherein snappy members including a plurality of thin snares are controlled to move in close contact with or separate from backside drumheads (corresponding to non-striking sides of snare drums), or they are controlled to move in close contact with or separate from both of backside drumheads and front-side drumheads (corresponding to striking sides of snare drums), so that vibrations of drumheads are transmitted to snares to produce pattering or rattling sounds having light tone colors. The following documents teach adjustments of snares adapted to snare drums.    (a) Japanese Examined Utility Model Publication No. S58-50372.    (b) U.S. Pat. No. 6,008,445.    (c) U.S. Pat. No. 5,844,157.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the exterior appearance of a conventionally know snare drum having a snappy member, which is attached in relation to a backside drumhead; and FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing essential parts of the structure for assembling a snappy member with a snare strainer. Herein, reference numeral 1 designates a snare drum; reference numeral 2 designates a drum body, i.e., a drum cylinder having openings at both ends thereof; reference numeral 3 designates a backside drumhead covering the backside opening of the drum cylinder 2; reference numeral 4 designates a hoop (or a clamp frame) engaged with each of the openings of the drum cylinder; reference numeral 5 designates lugs; reference numeral 6 designates clamp bolts for interconnecting the hoops 4 and the lugs 5 together; reference numeral 7 designates a snappy member that is attached in relation to the backside drumhead 3; reference numeral 8 designates a first strainer for holding a moving end 7A of the snappy member 7; and reference numeral 9 designates a second strainer for holding a fixed end 7B of the snappy member 7. The snare strainer is constituted by the strainers 8 and 9.
The snappy member 7 comprises a plurality of thin snares 11, which are arranged in parallel with each other with prescribed distances therebetween in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, a pair of snappy plates 12, which are arranged apart from and opposite to each other and to which opposite ends of the snares 11 are fixedly soldered, and interconnection members 13 having flexibility, which are attached to the snappy plates 12 respectively. The interconnection members 13 are each made by strings or wires, wherein they are each detachably held between a pair of holding plates 14A and 14B with respect to the first strainer 8 and the second strainer 9 respectively.
The first strainer 8 controls the moving end 7A of the snappy member 8 to move in close contact with or separate from the backside drumhead 3, wherein it is constituted by a fixed base 15, which is fixed to the exterior circumference of the drum cylinder 2, a moving base 16, which is attached to the fixed base 15 and is subjected to bidirectional movement relative to the fixed base 15 (see directions designated by arrows A and B in FIG. 9), a switch mechanism 17, which allows the bidirectional movement of the moving base 16 relative to the fixed base 15 so that the moving end 7A of the snappy member 7 correspondingly moves in close contact with or separates from the backside drumhead 3, and a tension adjustment screw 18, which allows the bidirectional movement of the moving member 16 relative to the fixed member 15 so as to adjust the tension applied to the snappy member 7. The holding plates 14A and 14B are clamped and fixed together at the tip end portion of the moving base 16 by two square-headed bolts 19 such that the interconnection member 13 is held therebetween.
The fixed end 7B of the snappy member 7 is interconnected with the second strainer 9, which is not designed to move the fixed end 7B in close contact with or separate from the backside drumhead 3 and is thus not designed to adjust the tension applied to the snappy member 7. For this reason, compared with the first strainer 8, the second strainer 9 is designed with a simple structure. Specifically, the second strainer 9 has a fixed base, by which it is fixed to the drum cylinder 2, and it does not include other members corresponding to the moving base 16, switch mechanism 17, and tension adjustment screw 18 of the first strainer 8 described above. Similar to the first strainer 8, the second strainer 9 has a pair of holding plates (14A and 14B) for holding the ‘string-like’ interconnection member 13 attached to the fixed end 7B of the snappy member 7.
The aforementioned structure allows the snappy member 7 to be attached to the snare strainer comprising the first strainer 8 and the second strainer 9. Herein, when the snare drum 1 is played without using the snappy member 7, the switch mechanism 17 of the first strainer 8 is operated to move the moving base 16 in a forward direction towards the backside drumhead 3 so that the snares 11 of the snappy member 7 are separated from the backside drumhead 3. When the snare drum 1 is played by use of the snappy member 7, the switch mechanism 17 is operated to move the moving base 16 in a backward direction so that the snares 11 move in close contact with the surface of the backside drumhead 3. In such a close contact state, when the front-side drumhead is struck with a stick and the like, the vibration is transmitted to the snares 11 via the backside drumhead 3, so that the snares 11 correspondingly vibrate; thus, it is possible for the snare drum 1 to realize the special sound effect to produce the pattering or rattling sounds having the light tone color.
In the conventional structure for attaching the snappy member 7 in association with the first strainer 8 and the second strainer 9, the interconnection members 13 respectively attached to both ends of the snappy member 7 are each held between the ‘paired’ holding plates 14A and 14B, which are fixed to the tip end portion of the moving base 16 (or fixed base) by use of the two square-headed bolts 19. Therefore, it is impossible to replace the backside drumhead 3 with another drumhead unless the two bolts 19 are released so as to remove the interconnection member 13 from the space between the paired holding plates 14A and 14B. After replacement, it is necessary for the human operator to hold the interconnection member 13 between the paired holding members 14A and 14B, which are then fixed to the moving base 16 (or fixed base) by use of the two square-headed bolts 19. This requires troublesome work for the human operator.
In a drumhead replacement mode, the held condition of the interconnection member 13 held between the paired holding members 14A and 14B should be temporarily released. After the replacement of the backside drumhead 3, it is necessary for the human operator to attach the snappy member 7 to the snare drum 1 again, wherein it is necessary to greatly readjust the tensions of the snares 11 by adjusting the positional relationship between the interconnection member 13 and the paired holding plates 14A and 14B. This requires a relatively long time for the replacement of the backside drumhead 3. Of course, similar troublesome work should be required to replace the existing snares (or the existing snappy member) with other types of snares (or another snappy member).